Only in L.A.

Six months ago, we told you about the reverse psychology employed by Nick's Cafe in an attempt to curb graffiti. On an outside wall visible from North Spring Street, the owners (who are two Los Angeles police officers) painted a message to a local gang.

It said: "Dogtown, please write on this side." There was an arrow pointing to a back wall.

On the back wall, a painted message said: "Dogtown, please write below this line." (Explained waitress Lois Fuentes: "The stuff below the line is easier for us to reach.")

Well, in the half-year since, Nick's has achieved a partial victory. As per instructions, gang members have refrained from scrawling anything on the wall facing North Spring. But some markings were recently left on the back wall--and in the no-graffiti zone above the demarcation line.

Obviously, the gang felt as though it had to save face.

BEACHED BARRACUDA: Like the singer formerly known as Prince, Long Beach now has the team formerly known as the Barracuda. The franchise lost its nickname because "Barracuda" was copyrighted by the former owner, who lost the team because of financial problems.

Frankly, we can't get too excited about the temporary official appellation, "the Long Beach Franchise of the Western Baseball League."

After all, the name Barracuda was chosen by fans in a contest last year. And there's no reason the league couldn't pick one of the more than 2,000 other suggestions that were submitted.

Our favorites were Catalinas, Killer Bees, Leprechauns, Lobsters, Sand Fleas, Tamales and Wart Hogs. How could you go wrong with one of those?

We also liked one other proposal, but perhaps the league would figure the name didn't really denote dynamic leadership: The Long Beach Looney Tunes.

NEWS CENTER 3: You had to feel for the makers of the new Channel 13 TV series "Live Shot," which is about a local TV news operation set in L.A. They had to come up with a glitzy name for the mythical Channel 3 operation--and almost all the titles have been used. (True, "Barracuda" was available, but it probably didn't seem appropriate.)

The show settled for "Re-Action News," which is not to be confused with KCBS' "Action News." Or Channel 13's real news show, "Real News," which actually followed the debut of "Re-Action News" Tuesday night.

If "Live Shot" is realistic, the name of the news show will change several times. After all, Channel 2 went through "The Big News" and "The News Wheel." KNBC had "News 4 L.A." and "News Center 4." And Channel 11 once offered "Metro News." There was even a special Channel 11 news segment that followed the popular soap opera, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." It was called, "Metro News, Metro News."

Really, really.

HOLLYWOOD ON THE ROAD: We always thought a quiet remodeler was a contradiction in terms. But, while passing through Colorado, Mary Lou Canaday of Rancho Mirage shot a photo that seems to illustrate otherwise.

SAVING UP FOR THAT DOWN PAYMENT: A colleague was entering the ritzy Paseo Nuevo shopping center in Santa Barbara when she heard a panhandler chanting, "Spare change so I can buy a condo in L.A.?"

miscelLAny A former Security Pacific building on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach has been converted to a Burger King. One exterior feature of the old bank remains--the drive-through window. Doing business on the inside will be different, of course. For one thing, special orders will probably be handled more smoothly.